Romance of the Rail is living history, people telling their own stories, inspired and illustrated by the art of Janet Skinner. Rather than simply mourn the loss of familiar railway stations, Janet turned her artistic skills to preserving their memories. Granted permission by Queensland Rail, she went from station to station, capturing their essence in her paintings and attracting those who spent their lives in and around those stations. They told her their stories. Patiently Pauline Reckentin listened to the tapes and turned their words into a book that shares with the reader memories of life on the railway. Janet extended her work from Queensland to New South Wales, and captured the spirit of preservation and restoration of railways and locomotives in both states. Well-known rail historian John Kerr has edited the text into a rare combination of art and anecdote.